Official figures show that a pick-up in the number of people travelling to Ireland continued in the summer months. The Central Statistics Office said the number of trips made by overseas visitors between June and August was up 6.1% compared with the same period last year.
The total number of trips in the period was just over 2.1 million, 123,500 more than in the same period last year. The last two sets of travel figures had shown bigger percentage increases, but they included comparisons with April and May 2010 when travel was disrupted by volcanic ash.
Today's figures show that trips from North America were up 7.6% from a year earlier, while visits from Britain - Ireland's biggest tourism market - were up 4.8%. Trips from other European countries rose 6.1%, while other areas increased 12.4%.
For the first eight months of the year, visits to Ireland are up 11% from a year earlier to just under 4.5 million. The British market is up 8.3%, North America up 12.6% and other European countries ahead by 13%.
Meanwhile, Irish people made just over two million trips abroad from June to August, down 5.3% compared with the same period last year. For the first eight months, visits abroad are down 4.1% to just under 4.5 million.
